Etihad Cargo enhances operations to China

Etihad Cargo, part of United Arab Emirates (UAE) national airline Etihad Airways, will enhance its Chinese cargo services later this month when it increases bellyhold cargo capacity between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu.

Effective
30 March, cargo capacity to and from Chengdu will grow 40 per cent to 930 tonnes
per month, a result of the current five times a week Airbus A330 passenger service
between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu moving to a daily operation.

Chengdu
is a leading economic, transportation and communications centre in China, where
nearly half of the world’s Fortune 500 companies have operations. Situated in Sichuan province which is home to
more than 80 million people, Chengdu is also one of China’s biggest markets for
Foreign Direct Investment.

Etihad
Cargo is the only operator that provides a direct air link between Chengdu and
the UAE capital, where cargo can connect seamlessly to destinations across the
globe.

The
increase in cargo capacity between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu comes against a
background of increasing trade flows to and from China. In 2013, Etihad Cargo carried more than
73,000 tonnes of goods to and from China, up 33 per cent on 2012 (54,903 tonnes).

The
airline will also continue to offer daily bellyhold cargo capability between
Abu Dhabi and Beijing, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, and with its equity partner Air
Seychelles, between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.

“Today,
we offer just over 19,000 tonnes of monthly cargo capacity to and from China,
with unique direct access out of China to the Indian subcontinent market, where
we offer services from Shanghai and Hong Kong to the cities of Mumbai, Delhi,
Chennai and Dhaka.

“As
a direct result of increased demand for our cargo services, tonnage carried
between our Chinese destinations and the rest of our global network has grown
significantly over the past 12 months, and our forward projections for 2014 are
looking positive.”